In the art of fluid handling and special dispensing devices, spray bottles and cans are widely used for many purposes. These types of containers offer a controlled atmosphere in which to contain liquids that might be activated in some manner or easily become dissipated upon exposure to atmosphere. Further, spray containers provide specially adapted dispensing nozzles so that the liquid is processed into an appropriate pattern according to its purpose. Thus, for example, paint can be stored for long periods without loss of solvent and then can be sprayed in an appropriate fan-shaped pattern; and plastic foams can be dispensed as a cohesive mass that then expands and solidifies only upon release from the container.
A common construction of a spray bottle or spray can employs a dip tube that depends into the liquid contents from a spray head at the top of the container. This tube is rigid and its operation requires that the spray container be held in a somewhat upright position, so as to keep the open lower, pick-up end of the tube immersed in liquid. If the container is tipped to far from upright or becomes inverted, the spray device ceases to operate due to the tube's drawing gas instead of liquid.
Variations from the use of rigid dip tubes are found in special applications. For example, when it is desired to extract liquid from the top of a contained reservoir, a partial rigid dip tube may extend from the spray head into the liquid, where a flexible tube is attached to a float that keeps the pick-up end of the flexible tube near the surface of the liquid pool. This teaching has been applied in U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,880 to extracting gasoline from a tank, when it is desired to avoid picking up sediment from the tank bottom. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,152 employs a float in a nursing bottle to maintain the pick-up end of a flexible tube near, but slightly below, the surface of the liquid regardless of the position of the bottle.
Another special application arises when two immiscible liquids are contained in surface contact in the same reservoir. Such liquid may need to be mixed upon dispensing from an aerosol container, or it may be desired to dispense only one of the two. In this case, the container may employ a flexible dip tube having on its end a float of selected density so as to float between the two layers of liquid. The float is provided with intakes leading into each layer to be dispensed, so as to extract from one or both layers during any spraying operation. This teaching is applied in U.S. Pat. No. 3,113,698 to extract from both layers and mix the two during spraying. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,211,349 only one layer is removed, leaving behind the other.
Other containers have had their liquid contents extracted by the use of a flexible dip tube coupled on its pick-up end to a weight. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,547,296 a nursing bottle is equipped with such a liquid pick-up system in which a rigid tube is joined to a flexible end portion, thus allowing the flexible end to rest within the liquid contents regardless of the position of the bottle. A problem with this system is that the flexible portion tends to become pinched off near the juncture to the rigid portion. Consequently the patent proposes that the juncture be wound with a coil to prevent such pinching off. Another flexible dip tube with weighted free end is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,430. In this patent, the flexible tube is considerably longer than the height of the container so that the weighted end does not pull on the tube to cause a pinching off. U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,235 employs an articulated jointed siphon tube in a spray bottle, wherein the tube is formed with a plurality of rigid sections interconnected by pivotal joints, and the pick-up end of the tube is weighted and has legs. Study of this type of design shows that the tube can become tangled quite easily when the bottle is inverted and may not be able to return to original position when the bottle is righted. In addition, legs of the type shown in the patent can contribute to the tipping of the pick-up end and be detrimental to any self-righting ability. U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,272 employs a weighted end on a flexible pick-up tube, in which the tube end shows a clear tendency to lie on its side and not be self-righting. In addition, this design is functional only through a limited degree of bottle tilt.
Although these patents and others of similar scope have proposed various constructions that would enable a spray container to operate in different angular positions, there is no known commercial utilization of any of these constructions. Among the reasons for non-utilization may be high cost, difficulty of construction, and operational problems. In particular, the prior patented constructions do not have the ability to self-right. It appears that those with weights will lie on their sides when the bottle is tilted sideways, with the unfavorable result that it is not possible to pick-up low levels of liquid from the bottle. Due to the high cost and complex construction of these devices, it appears that manufacturing this type of invention will not be practical until a simpler, more efficient solution is found. It is in these areas of design, construction, and operation where there is an opportunity and need for improvement.
An all directional spray pick-up should offer self-righting capabilities and reliable construction with little chance for the pick-up device to become detached or otherwise inoperable. Also, the pick-up device should be efficient so that it is able to extract substantially the entire content of the container. Further, the pick-up device should be of a simple design that is inexpensive to manufacture. It is in these areas of potential improvement that the present invention is directed.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the all directional fluid pick-up and method of operation of this invention may comprise the following.